Today I’m jumping back on the Lynda La Plante blogathon with my review of Judas Horse, the second book in the Jack Warr series. My review is written with thanks to Tracy Fenton for inviting me on the blogathon and to the publisher for my copy of the book.

Blurb:

‘Do you know what a Judas Horse is? When the wild mustangs are running free, you corral one and train it. When he’s ready, you release him and he’ll bring his team back into the corral – like Judas betraying them…’

Violent burglars have been terrorising residents across the English countryside. But when a mutilated body is discovered in a Cotswolds house, it becomes clear that this is no ordinary group of opportunist thieves.

As Detective Jack Warr investigates, he discovers locals with dark secrets, unearths hidden crimes – and hits countless dead ends. With few leads and the violent attacks escalating, he will have to act as audaciously as the criminals if he hopes to stop them.

When Warr meets Charlotte Miles, a terrified woman with links to the group, he must use her to lure the unsuspecting killers into one last job, and into his trap. But with the law already stretched to breaking point, any failure will be on Warr’s head – and any more blood spilled, on his hands..

Review:

I really enjoyed reading Buried, so I was excited to return to Jack Warr in the second installment of this series. It’s definitely a series you should read in order as I feel that Buried sets up the character of Jack that we see in Judas Horse. He is a maverick and doesn’t always respond well to instructions or do things in the way you would expect, but he’s just the right side of likeable to allow me to warm to him. Unlike many fictional detectives, he has a reasonably functional family life with a partner and newborn baby, and this allows us to see both sides of his life, which I enjoyed.

In Judas Horse, Jack is sent to work on a case in the Cotswolds, which allows him to work with a different team and I loved the different dynamic between them. Jack is in a position where he is an outsider in a very close knit community which allows us to see a different side of his character. The close knit community means there is a wonderful cast of characters who could potentially be suspects and I enjoyed trying to work out who was involved and how. It is clear that Lynda La Plante has researched the issues faced by the characters in a lot of detail and this adds authenticity to the plot.

As always, Lynda La Plante’s brilliant writing comes to the fore in Judas Horse, as the story is very tense and compelling and difficult to put down, especially towards the end. I loved the chase for the suspects which has a definite sense of danger and jeopardy.

I can’t wait to see where Lynda La Plante takes Jack next!

Judas Horse is available from Amazon.

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